Writings

Administrative Changes at Rutgers

August 9, 2011

Members of the Rutgers Community:

I am pleased to announce some administrative changes in areas of strategic importance for the future of the university.

Effective September 1, 2011, School of Management and Labor Relations Dean David L. Finegold will become senior vice president for lifelong Learning and strategic growth initiatives. This new position represents an expansion of the duties so ably carried out by vice president for continuing studies Ray Caprio, who will be returning to the faculty at the end of the calendar year. Dr. Finegold leaves SMLR in good hands, as professor Sue Schurman has agreed to serve as acting dean. And the School of Social Work is now being led by professor Kathleen J. Pottick, who assumed the acting deanship of that unit on July 1, 2011, when dean Richard L. Edwards became interim executive vice president for academic affairs.

As senior vice president, Dr. Finegold’s responsibilities will include overseeing all continuing and executive education programs and contracting with a leading educational technology company to enable Rutgers to offer fully online degrees under the authority of the faculty. He will work with vice president for international and global affairs Joanna Regulska and her team to foster strategic partnerships with India and China, and he will collaborate with other university leaders in areas of strategic growth. I have also asked Dr. Finegold to chair a task force, which I will appoint and charge this fall, that will assess how other large public research universities organize their provisions for the most rapidly growing segments of higher education—part-time students who are juggling education with working; online courses and degrees; and continuing and executive education. The goal will be to best position Rutgers for growth in these key areas.

Since becoming dean in 2006, Dr. Finegold has expanded SMLR’s degree programs, enhanced the quantity and academic excellence of student enrollments, and increased the school’s endowment by 600 percent. Among other achievements at Rutgers, he took the lead in creating the new Master of Business and Science degree, designed to prepare individuals to help bring innovations to market. Dr. Finegold has also been instrumental in building a workforce development system for the state’s bioscience sector.

Vice President Caprio has provided exemplary leadership. Thanks to his efforts, the Office of Continuing Studies has provided the critical central lead in the growth of online courses at Rutgers; has established the off-campus degree completion initiative, which is providing new opportunities for New Jersey residents to secure a Rutgers degree; has led the development of the university’s first integrated registration and business-process system for all continuing education units; and has provided multiple entrepreneurial opportunities through which academic units could increase their nonstate resources. Although Ray will step down as vice president, he will continue to serve the university as a faculty member in the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.

Dr. Schurman, who will become acting dean of the School of Management and Labor Relations on September 1, has held a variety of positions at Rutgers. From 1992 to 1997 she was associate professor of labor studies and director of labor extension programs in SMLR, before being recruited to become the founding president of the National Labor College in Silver Springs, Maryland. Rutgers attracted her back in 2006 to become professor in SMLR and acting dean of the University College Community, which she now heads as dean. Sue has long been involved in national policy discussions on how best to enable working adults to obtain postsecondary education credentials. She has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the United Association of Labor Education and has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Labor and Employment Research Association.

Finally, while Dick Edwards is serving as interim executive vice president for academic affairs, Dr. Kathleen J. Pottick will serve as acting dean of the School of Social Work (SSW). An experienced administrator, distinguished scholar, and respected teacher, Dr. Pottick most recently held the position of SSW Associate Dean of Faculty Development. In that capacity she developed a mentoring program for junior faculty that has attracted international attention. She also worked with Dean Edwards to double the size of the tenure-track faculty to create a solid foundation for SSW’s research and teaching across diverse fields of social work practice. Dr. Pottick’s own research explores strategies for removing the barriers to providing effective mental health services for children, adolescents, and disadvantaged populations.

I know you will join me in welcoming these individuals to their new positions and in offering your support to them.

Richard L. McCormick
President
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey